Was Jesus an alien?

Years ago I was going to a mini “Star Trek” convention with my father, and while we were waiting in line my dad ran into an old friend of his. Later on my dad told me the man was Jewish, explained the bare-bones of modern Judaism, and that for some reason this man that he knew believed that Jesus was an alien. Probably this guy’s explanation for the miracles performed by Jesus. It is odd that many people believe the miracles, yet do not become Christians and instead claim Jesus was a druidic mage or an alien.

Years later, I would come across the same claim about alien ancestry in the UFO literature. While I can’t recall a specific claim from the time, I had read about various accounts of abductees reporting they had been told that Jesus had been an alien or a hybrid created by their abductors to teach us and so on.

Among those who believe the E.T. Jesus theory is a Presbyterian minister named Barry Downing. Downing believes that Jesus was an alien hybrid, angels were aliens and that Jesus ascended into a UFO after His resurrection. It is important to note that although he is a Presbyterian minister educated at Princeton seminary, that doesn’t mean his interpretation of scripture or theology is correct as demonstrated by one of his sermons here, where he opines that the Exodus of the Jews was accomplished via UFO and that parting the Red Sea was the result of the UFO’s propulsion system. Such a claim really sucks the power out of an all powerful God.

Probably one reason Paul gave us Acts 17:11.

Here is a good dissection of some things Downing gets wrong, and I also plan to one day do a blog to address some of his claims at a later time. Just an FYI Barry

Similarly, Marc Dem maintains that God is an alien and moved people, the Jews, to Earth from another planet. Oy vey. That’s really an interesting claim and a lot of trouble for aliens to go to since the Jews all came from one person, Abraham, according to the Bible. Part of Dem’s claim is that the names of God, Elohim and YHWH indicate different entities, which of course means aliens. Not to keep tooting his horn, but Dr. Heiser discusses Elohim and to an extent the name of God. Heiser essentially illustrates that Elohim is different from YHWH, but not necessarily in the way that Dem postulates. Where Elohim is used and it’s referring to God (YHWH, interchangeably), context makes it obvious. When Elohim is used as a generic title for small g “gods”, or other spirits, it’s also obvious, and is not interchangeable with YHWH and has not replaced YHWH as God in anyway. In short, it is clear when Elohim is used to refer to YHWH and when it’s not, and it never serves as an indication that “an Elohim” has replaced God.

Aside from these few theories, this claim about Jesus’ alien ancestry doesn’t seem to be especially pervasive in the paleocontact literature that I’ve read, which often focuses on large stone constructs, mystery objects or cave art, but Jesus’ status as an alien or not is an important claim to look at. Especially since it also appears in discussions on medieval art, though those discussions are without merit as will be demonstrated later.

Making Jesus an alien hybrid creates a few problems. For Jesus to be an alien, it would basically require that the Creator God also be an alien, which is essentially the claim made by ancient astronaut theorists above and elsewhere. To discern if Jesus was an alien or not, the most logical place to begin here is with who God the Father is, and if He is/was an alien.

Ancient-alienites already have several claims that the LORD God portrayed in the Hebrew Scriptures was an alien. Often texts used to support this theory are referring to the pillar of fire in Exodus (like Downing suggests). Or the opening chapter of Ezekiel. Ezekiel is expertly addressed here. There may be others, but these seem to be the two most common.

The argument that the pillar of fire/cloud leading Israel in the wilderness was a rocket or UFO just doesn’t make any sense when you actually read the text, even in your native language. Downing maintains that the cloud/pillar was a cylindrical, cigar shaped UFO, but there is no evidence for this in the Biblical text, especially when you consider that God provided this cloud for 40 years. Consider also that probably every cigar-shaped UFO that has been reported are oriented horizontally (as depicted on the back cover art of Downing’s book, parting the Red Sea). One problem with this is that the Bible refers to a pillar, and the Hebrew is clear that it means vertical.Another problem is that many modern-day UFOs disappear after a few minutes, and typically do not appear to such a large gathering for any length of time. In any case, there’s no convincing evidence of Downing’s theory about the pillar of cloud/fire being a UFO, and if there is, it will be addressed in the Downing post.

Some have also claimed that the pillar of cloud/fire was the rocket blast from the UFO. This seems unlikely simply because the fire from a rocket launch is plainly visible simultaneously with the smoke, or is seen quickly turning into smoke, which does not hold the shape of a pillar for very long. Watch any NASA shuttle launch, smoke and fire are everywhere. However, the Bible clearly states that God provided a long-term cloud during the day, and a pillar of fire by night, demonstrating quite clearly that this was a supernatural event as they were not coexistant. The cloud was not metallic, nor did it change its appearance. The cloud acted deliberately and did not behave in the erratic manner that most UFOs do. It caused no physical effects when the cloud manifested as God’s glory then resided in the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle, a place much too small for a UFO large enough to be seen as a pillar. The cloud did not harm the Israelites when it came into the camp, something a rocket blast would have done.

In short, there is no correlation between the pillar of fire/cloud and UFO sightings, nor does the Exodus have anything in common with any modern UFO sightings or abduction accounts.

Another point to consider, if the pillar of fire/cloud was a rocket, those aliens must have had a lot of fuel. Because God used this method to lead the Israelites through the wilderness for FORTY YEARS. The idea of any rocket ship expending large amounts of fuel, landing on Mount Sinai, or blasting and landing into a camp full of Israelites continuously for forty years just to lead some people through the desert is absurd. The only way it would be possible for a pillar of fire/cloud to last for forty years is that God, in His infinite power and resources did it supernaturally just like the Bible says.

When considering whether or not God of the Hebrew Scriptures is an alien, consider also what the Bible says about Him.

Genesis 1, God speaks everything – literally – into existence. A difficult feat for any alien to achieve given that the matter the alien and its technology are made of hadn’t existed before creation. Sort of like the joke about a scientist competing with God to create life. God created life from the clay. The scientist started to work the clay and God said, “no way, make your own dirt.”

Job 38, God declares some of His works to Job, including His sovereignty over the Pleiedes and stars of Orion. Psalm 147:5 notes that God calls each star by name.

Here’s a couple more verses about the power of God. Psalm 14 which I believe uses YHWH and Elohim interchangeably. Psalm 66 also talks of God’s power. Then there’s Job 12:14-15 where it describes that what God tears down, can not be rebuilt and His control over the waters, presumably all of the sea. Jeremiah 10:12 kind of clinches it, though the whole chapter is good. In verse 12, it describes how God has made the Earth and stretched out the heavens. No matter how advanced an alien’s technology is, making an entire planet is a pretty tall order, but add to that stretching out the heavens – expanding out the universe – it defies the imagination to think an alien could do such a thing.

And a few essays about God’s power, in general terms. One, two, and three.

In Exodus and elsewhere in the Bible, God reminds that no other god has done what He had done, nor were they capable of such. No other god had or has led a group into a land to prosper and multiply, become slaves, then led those people to freedom from slavery with signs and wonders to become a nation. Substitute gods for aliens, and even if an advanced alien may be able do some of those things, why would they travel light years to do it? Why choose only Israel alone to do these signs with? No other culture has an origin story like this. No other nation can call attention to so many signs and wonders in the role of their creation. If aliens had been involved in Israel and the establishment thereof, one would expect other cultures to have equally awesome origin stories merely for experimental purposes, or to see if all people groups reacted in the same way.

On another note, Israel was given a very elaborate law system in the book of Leviticus, as well as a ritual, blood-atonement system. An atonement system that was foreshadowed as early as Genesis 3. Barring a taste for barbecue, why would aliens travel such vast distances to receive or partake in animal blood sacrifices and burnt offerings of animals? Especially when such blood sacrifice foreshadows the atonement of Jesus Christ. Why would they provide such specific and sometimes peculiar laws for diet, property ownership, hygiene, justice, interpersonal relations and sex? If these laws are from advanced aliens, why do people take pride in not obeying them? Why do people dismiss them?

Anyone who claims that the God of the Bible is an alien, hasn’t read it, or doesn’t understand it. It’s clear from the text that God created everything, and revealed Himself to a specific nation for a reason. Reasons that would not make sense for aliens, namely the creation, fall and redemption of mankind. Fictional aliens like Q from Star Trek or the the”lords” from Philip Jose Farmer’s “World of Tiers” are capricious and have no motive to do these kinds of things. They would also be hard-pressed to accomplish the creation of all that exists, in addition to subsequent activities, predicting and shaping events to establish a nation. A nation whose sole purpose was to provide a means of redeeming mankind via the Messiah, Jesus. And if they could, one would have to ask “who created them?” Or even, “why bother?”

In short, aliens (if they existed at all) would have to be created beings, and as such it is impossible for God to be an alien as He has no creator. The Bible tells the story of THE creator God and His plan of redemption for fallen mankind. We know because He revealed it to us in the Bible. No matter how you look at it, there is no way possible that God as revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures could be an extraterrestrial as most understand the term.

Which brings us to Jesus Christ, aka Jesus Messiah.

We all know that some of the claims that Jesus was an alien stem from medieval art. Nevermind that medieval artists were centuries removed from the event, and therefore not eyewitnesses to Jesus’ conception, birth, death or resurrection. Obviously poor evidence for the argument in other words. Besides that, the art claims were thoroughly debunked.

Beyond that though, we know that Jesus cannot possibly be an extraterrestrial, hybrid or otherwise, simply because He is one with God the Father. The Bible demonstrates, and Jesus states that He and the Father (God) are ONE. Here is one proof

And I am indebted to the late Walter Martin for the following verses. He used these verses to demonstrate to Jehovah’s Witnesses that Jesus Messiah is the Son of God, and also God. God in human flesh.

Mp3 download of his sermon is available on this page. Be sure to also share it with your Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormon friends.

God the Father is referred to as the first and the last. This is from the Old Testament. Please go here or reference your Bible to read the following verses.

Isaiah 44:6

Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

In Revelation 1:8, Jesus, now resurrected and glorified, makes a similar statement of being first and last, Alpha and Omega. According to Martin, this verse is also equally applicable and attributable to God the Father. Kind of makes sense in light of the Isaiah verse. As if that isn’t enough though, Revelation 22:13 emphasizes it.

Exodus 3 outlines God’s first use of “I AM”. Jesus also made the claim of “I AM” in several places. John 8 and 10 being a few.

Further indebting myself, now to Chuck Missler, the Bible demonstrates multiple times that Jesus is equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit, illustrating one God in three persons. If God the Father (of the old testament wasn’t an alien, Jesus can’t be, nor can the Holy Spirit. Proving that the incarnation of Jesus was not the result of aliens, but rather a supernatural act and indwelling of the Creator God.

In Hebrews 10:5 – 10, it would appear that the writer of Hebrews notes that the Father gave Jesus a corporeal body. In Philippians 2:5 – 7, it’s noted that Jesus is equal with God, and took up flesh, a human body. Seemingly of His own accord. Finally, in Luke 1:35, the Holy Spirit is cited as giving Jesus Christ a human body, by allowing Mary to conceive as a virgin. This is probably the most well-known part of Jesus’ conception.

There are other examples of each part of the Godhead receiving credit for a particular event, demonstrating that God the Father, the Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all one. A couple examples are: regarding atonement (Isaiah 53 – Father, Ephesians 5 – the Son and Hebrews 9 – the Holy Spirit) as well as the resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6 – God the Father, John 10 – the Son, and Romans 8 – the Holy Spirit.)

Since the Bible demonstrates that God is self sustaining, preexistent and that God is one, but revealed in three persons, no one part of God can be an alien. As demonstrated in the first half of this blog, God the Father created everything (Genesis 1), so He can’t be E.T. Jesus (God the Son) was there at creation and created everything (John 1), so He can’t be an alien creation. There was no UFO at Bethlehem, because Jesus wasn’t an alien. The Holy Spirit was involved in creation Psalm 33:6 and, so He can’t be an alien either. If all three persons of the Trinity were involved in the creation, they cannot be mere physical beings like you or I, because they were not created. Period. Nor can they be mere (or advanced) extraterrestrial beings, like a hypothetical Wookie, Q, Klingon or Yoda.

In short, the Bible clearly demonstrates that God is GOD and not an alien misinterpreted as a god. God was not an alien, neither was Jesus neither was the Holy Spirit. If you believe God is an alien, I would urge you to pray sincerely to the creator God to show you the absolute truth on the matter, in His Son Jesus’ name. In my experience, when I was struggling with who Jesus was and if He was an alien or ascended master, I prayed like that and discovered that God was God and that His son Jesus is the only way to Him. God, who is not an alien, gave us this good news about His son, who is also not an alien:

1 Corinthians 15:3 -5

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: